Crowfeather's Choice
by Quillfang
Summary: Crowpaw is a loyal WindClan apprentice with dreams of becoming the leader of his But through tragedy and change, he realizes his dream may not be what is destined for
1. Prologue

Prologue

Crowfeather raced through the battle as fast as he could panting. He had to reach Breezepelt, had to stop him from killing his kin. _From killing Leafpool's son, _he thought as he cut through the stone hollow. He looked around, trying desperately to find his two sons, fighting against each other in this bloody battle. _There!_ He saw Breezepelt standing over Lionblaze, triumphantly staring down at the golden tom. _Never! He will not kill Leafpool's kits!_ Crowfeather picked up his pace, then slammed into Breezepelt as he prepared to deliver the killing blow. His claws sank into the black tom's fur as he pinned him to the ground. Crowfeather quickly glanced over at Lionblaze as he got to his paws.

"This has to stop!" he hissed. Breezepelt writhed under his father but could not get out of his grip.

"I will not let you harm a whisker on that cat!" Breezepelt snarled at him. "I always knew you hated me!" "I never hated you," Crowfeather growled. "That's just what you were determined to believe. And Nightcloud encouraged you." Breezepelt tried again to get out of his father's claws. "It's not her fault!," he spat, his amber eyes only hate. Crowfeather closed his eyes for a moment. _No, not all her fault. It's my fault. My fault for this. My fault for your hatred. _He opened his eyes again.  
"No," Crowfeather hissed at his son. "I should have done something much earlier. But now it's too late. You chose the Dark Forest." _I could have stopped it. _Crowfeather's mind races back to everything, everything that had happened. The journey to sun-drown place, Feathertail, Leafpool, Nightcloud, everything that had happened had led up to this. _And I will not let all that be wasted on Breezepelt's revenge. _He hauled breezepelt to his paws and flung him away. "Get out of here!" he hissed at his son. Breezepelt stared at him, as if not believing that Crowfeather would show any mercy on his son. Then he ran, away from the ThunderClan camp, away from the battle, away from the cat he hated.

Crowfeather turned to see Leafpool burst out of the battle. _Oh, Leafpool. How did it come to this?_ He thought sadly. "I'm so sorry! I never meant for this to happen!" she said, her eyes clouded with grief. _No, I'm sorry. Sorry for everything. _Crowfeather looked at her. "He's a warrior," he hissed. "He's been making his own choices for a long time now." Leafpool looked down at her paws. "Perhaps if we stayed together, things would have been different," she meowed sadly. Crowfeather's gaze sparked for a moment, then he sighed. "It was never meant to be," _Although I wish it was, _he thought, his grief matching Leafpool's. Crowfeather saw her flinch, but he touched his tail to her flank. "I don't regret anything ," he murmured. He flicked his gaze at Lionblaze "Nothing at all." Ears twitching, he shouldered his way through the battle and touched his muzzle to Hollyleaf's lifeless pelt. _Oh, Hollyleaf, _he closed his eyes sadly. _Maybe things could have been different. If only I could have known our kits better. If only._


	2. Chapter 1

"Crowkit? Crowkit? Where are you?" Crowkit paused and turned around when he heard Ashfoot's call. He scowled, then glanced over to his littermate who was pacing next to him. "Crowkit, we should go back! Ashfoot is worried!" Eaglekit urged. Crowkit rolled his eyes in disgust. "You can go back if you like. I want to try and climb the Tallrock," Eaglekit's eyes widened. "You know you can't do that! Only Tallstar and maybe Deadfoot can. Defiantly not a kit!" "Deadfoot's on patrol with Mudclaw and Webpaw. Tornear and Onewhisker are out of camp training Runningpaw and . The rest are somewhere else. Who's gonna stop us?" Eaglekit stamped his paw in the sand. "Ashfoot will! Do you want to be stuck in the nursery for the next quarter moon?" he meowed. "Well, _I'll _go. Let's see if anybody catches me!" Crowkit whipped around and stormed away from the nursery, a large hawthorn bush that lay under the gorse wall that protected the camp.

_Now..._Crowkit scanned the camp, looking for the large boulder that Tallstar used to hold Clan meetings. _There! _He spotted the Tallrock in the center of the camp. Tallstar sat under it, eating a hare with Morningflower, a tabby queen, and Barkface, the WindClan medicine cat. He made sure no one was looking, then raced towards the Tallrock.

He made it to the boulder without anyone spotting him. _Now_, he thought. _Lets get up there_. He patted the Tallrock with his paw, trying to find a small paw hold to begin climbing. He found one near the base of the rock, a small ledge just big enough for two small paws. He reached up and pulled himself onto the ledge. He reached out for another.

Soon, he reached the top of the Tallrock. "Whoa!" he breathed. "You can see the whole camp from here!" The sandy hollow where the camp lay was far beneath him from the boulder. The cats seemed distant and blurred. "This must be what it's like for a Clan leader!" he mewed in excitement.

"Crowkit!" his mother's worried yowl startled him. "Uh-oh," he muttered. He glanced in the direction of the nursery. Ashfoot was standing outside the nursery, looking around franticly. He sighed.

_Of course, just when I start having fun!_ He jumped down to the nearest ledge, then hopped to the next. He finally reached the base of the rock, then pelted towards the nursery, hoping to reach Ashfoot before his brother told her what he had done. When he finally got to the nursery, Ashfoot was asking Brookrunner, another queen if she had seen her kit. Eaglekit sat at his mother's paws nervously glancing around looking for his littermate. He saw Crowkit first. "Mama! There he is!" Ashfoot turned around and saw Crowkit padding proudly towards her. She raced over to him. "Crowkit, I've been worried! Where have you been?" Crowkit fluffed up his fur. _Well, I can't tell her I've been on the Tallrock, but..._

"I've been on an adventure!" he mewed. "Well, you should tell me before you go on another one," she meowed sternly. He nodded. "Good," she licked his ear, then padded of to talk with the warriors.

"Wow! No one saw you climb the Tallrock?" Eaglekit asked him with wide eyes. Crowkit nodded proudly. "No one saw me at all. It was amazing!" he closed his eyes, remembering the sight from the Tallrock. "And you know what, Eaglekit? I'll be the best leader who ever led WindClan!"


	3. Chapter 2

"Let all cats old enough to catch prey gather under Tallrock,"

Crowkit and Eaglekit looked up from their game of Rabbit to hear Tallstar's summons for a Clan meeting. "Eaglekit! Crowkit! Come here!" Ashfoot came quickly over to them. "Tallstar is holding a meeting!" she told them. "Yeah,we heard," Crowkit meowed, then licked his paw. "Can we go, even though we can't catch prey?" Eaglekit asked their mother, eyes wide. She sighed. "Alright, but must promise to be quiet and not disturb the rest of the Clan," she warned them. "We will!" the two kits raced to the Meeting Hollow.

"One of the most important parts of our Clan is the naming of new warriors. Today, we have two new warriors. Whitepaw, Runningpaw, step up." The two apprentices padded up to the base of the Tallrock, their eyes shining. "Runningpaw, you have learned the ways of the Clan, and is ready to become a full warrior," Tallstar looked down at her.

"I, Tallstar , leader of WindClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn. Runningpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?" Tallstar meowed. Runningpaw's eyes gleamed as she mewed, "I do." "Then, by the power of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Runningpaw, from now on you will be known as Runningbrook. StarClan honors your energy and honosty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of WindClan."

"Runningbrook! Runningbrook!" the Clan yowled in congratulations. When the voices died down, Tallstar gave Whitepaw the name of Whitetail. "I can't until _we_ become warriors," Eaglekit whispered over to Crowkit. "_You_ may want to be just a warrior, but _I _want to be the Clan leader!" he told his littermate. "Hush! Tallstar is not done speaking!" Ashfoot hissed to her kits. They straitened out and looked up at their leader. "Now, today, we have another ceremony. Two kits will become apprentices."

Ashfoot looked up in alarm. Crowkit's eyes widened. He glanced at Eaglekit. He looked confused. Crowkit leaned over towards him and hissed, "We're the only kits in the nursery! _We_ are going to be apprentices!" Eaglekit gasped as Tallstar called them up.

_I can't believe it!_ Crowkit thought excitedly. _One step closer to being Clan leader!_

**Sorry for this chapter's shortness. I was kind of busy when I wrote this, but the next chapter continues it!**


	4. Authors Note to the Readers

**Well, when I was beginning to write Chapter 3, I realized that I had forgotten one VERY major part of the story. When WindClan was forced into exile by ShadowClan. It mentions in the Warriors Field Guide Secrets of the Clans that Eaglepaw was a kit at the time. So i realized the story must start when Crowpaw and Eaglepaw are probably five moons, because judging from the way Eaglekit acted in Secrets of the Clans, he must have been either two or three moons. **

**Thanks for reading!**

**Quillfang**


	5. Chapter 3

Crowpaw raced over the moor, the wind in is fur and the sun on his pelt.

"This is great!" he yowled happily. He turned around as he smelled his mentor, Mudpelt, coming up behind him. "Slow down!" Mudpelt panted. "You're a whole lot faster than I am." Crowpaw rolled his eyes. "So, can we do battle practice? Or have a race? Or-" his mentor cut him off. "We'll tour the territory first. Don't get ahead of me, though," he warned the apprentice. Crowpaw sighed. _Why couldn't I be assigned to Onewhisker or Harefire_ he sighed. Mudpelt was one of the older warriors, nearly ready to join the Elders. "Then maybe I can actually get some training done," he muttered. "What that?" his mentor padded up alongside him. "I may be older, but I can hear well enough!" he warned Crowpaw.

Soon, Crowpaw found himself at a large rock near WindClan's border with ThunderClan. "This," his mentor meowed, "Is Outloock Rock. We use it for watching borders and in Greenleaf it can be used for hunting..." he tuned out his mentor, scanning the forest that lay in ThunderClan territory. _Blech! How do those ThunderClan cats even _stand _living in that tick-infested, flea ridden-_ "Crowpaw!" Mudpelt's yowl broke into his thoughts. "Come on, we're going to the Gorge."

Crowpaw stumbled into the apprentice den. "How was your day?" he heard his brother ask. He sighed. "Tiresome. Hudpelt is a good mentor and all, but he's so _slow! _I had to backtrack wherever we went because he can't catch up," Eaglepaw seemed more excited. "Well, Sunbrook is great! We went hunting and we underground battle moves!" "Underground?" Crowkit asked. "Yeah, I'm being trained as a tunneler, remember?" _Oh, yeah. _He thought. The apprentice ceremony seemed a lifetime away.

He let his thoughts drift as he fell into a deep sleep.

"Crowpaw! Crowpaw! Wake up! Mudpelt is looking for you!" Crowpaw woke up to Eaglepaw patting his shoulder with his paw. "Ok, ok, I'm a wake. Let me up!" Crowpaw meowed. He batted his littermate's ear with his paw as he rose to his feet. "Hey!" Eaglepaw leaped playfully on top of Crowpaw's back. The two apprentices wrestled with each other with sheathed paws, yowling playfully.

"Eaglepaw!" the two toms looked up from their mock battle. "Eaglepaw, we're leaving," Sunbrook, Eaglepaw's mentor, mewed. Her eyes flashed with warmth as she saw the fight. "You'll make great warriors. Both of you," she meowed. Eaglekit padded reluctantly went to join his mentor at the gorse tunnel. He glanced back at his brother.

"We'll finish this later," he promised. Crowpaw nodded, then padded up to him. "See you at sunhigh," he flicked his brother's ear with his tail. "I'll beat you!" he called as his brother left the camp.

Crowpaw padded back around to camp and looked around for Mudpelt. "There you are!" he ran over to his mentor. "Come on! Eaglepaw and Sunbrook are going out! I want to go hunting," he paced in front of the older cat. Mudpelt sighed. "Alright. Let's go."

Crowkit held a rabbit proudly in his jaws as he and Mudpelt padded slowly back to camp. _I can't wait 'till I show Eaglepaw and Ashfoot this catch! _He thought happily, scenting the delicious smell of the large rabbit. He glanced quickly back at his mentor. He was relieved that he looked pleased. They approached camp. Onewhisker was exiting the gorse tunnel when he caught sight of the two cats. He saw the rabbit dangling from Crowpaw's jaws and his eyes widened. "_You _caught that? That's great!" the brown tom exclaimed. The apprentice's eyes gleamed.

"Help! Help!" The three cats whipped around to see Sunbrook pelting towards them. "Y-you've got to come now! Eaglekit is trapped!"

Crowpaw's hackles raised as he heard Sunbrook's words. He dropped his rabbit at raced over the slope and followed Subrook to where Eaglepaw lay. They came to a horrific sight. Eaglepaw lay still at the bottom of a deep hole, blood seeping out of his side. Crowpaw gasped, his green eyes widened with shock. Onewhisker, Mudpelt, and Sunbrook stood next to him in horror. Crowpaw's fear turned to anger. "Well, don't just stand there!" he snarled at the warriors. "Let's get him out!" Onewhisker turned to Sunbrook. "How did this happen?" he asked. "W-we were following a rabbit. H-he went ahead and nearly caught it. But the tunnel collapsed on top on him." The she-cat began to tremble. "I..I couldn't reach him."

Mudpelt squinted. "There's a small slope here. Maybe if we cou-" his words were cut off as the ground under him disappeared, and he fell into the ground.


	6. Chapter 4

Crowpaw tried to grab Mudpelt's paw as the older cat fell, but his claws grasped thin air. Sunbrook let out a yowl or surprise and fear. Onewhisker's claws unsheathed his claws and began tearing at the ground. "Everyone stand back. The ground could be hollow," he warned them. Crowpaw hissed. "Mudpelt and Eaglepaw are injured and maybe dying! We can't just stand here and watch!" he padded cautiously towards the hole where Eaglepw lay. He saw the slope that his mentor had pointed out. _If I can just climb down there..._ He moved towards it. He began to crawl down, slowly and carefully. "Crowpaw, it's not safe!" Onewhisker called. He ignored the warrior and continued down the small slope.

After what seemed like moons, he reached the bottom. Eaglepaw lay directly at the bottom. He lay very still. He flinched as he saw the blood pooling around his body. Crowpaw pulled his littermate onto the slope by the scruff, and dragged him out slowly. When he finally reached Onewhisker and Sunbrook, Sunbrook looked at him, shocked. "You did that...on your own?" Crowpaw narrowed his eyes at her, then went back down to get Mudpelt.

Mudpelt had fallen into another hole that connected to the first, a bit smaller but deeper. He padded down into the hole, scanning the ground for his mentor's dark brown pelt. He dug around in the dirt, searching desperately for him. "Have you found him?" he heard Onewhisker's anxious mew and called back, "His pelt blends in with the ground! I can't find him!" "I'll come down there!" Sunbrook meowed. She reached him and immediately began pawing the rocks and dirt. "Here!" she quickly uncovered the broken body of Mudpelt. Crowpaw looked at his mentor's body in horror "Is...is he still alive?" he whispered. Sunbrook's eyes were full of grief. "His neck must have broken when he fell. He could have never survived," she hung her head. "He was my father," the golden she-cat's voice was barely a whisper. Crowpaw closed his eyes and silently yowled, _Why, StarClan? Why must you kill WindClan cats? _

Sunbrook and Crowpaw lifted Eaglepaw and Mudpelt's body into camp. The cats in camp looked up and gasped. Onewhisker laid Eaglepaw's body in the clearing. "A tunnel collapse killed Mudpelt. Eaglepaw was in the tunnel," he meowed, his voice raw with grief. Barkface raced into the clearing. He closed his eyes when he saw Mudpelt's broken neck. "Is Eaglepaw still alive?" he asked. Crowpaw nodded. He rushed the apprentice into his den. _Will he be alright? Please let him live, StarClan._


	7. Chapter 5

Crowpaw paced anxiously outside the Medicine den his tail flicking. Barkface came in and out of his den carrying herbs in his mouth. Crowpaw padded over to him, his eyes filled with fear. "How is Eaglepaw?" he asked. Barkface didn't answer. Crowpaw hissed at the medicine cat. "Is he all right? Is _my brother _all right!" Barkface sighed. "He's suffered internal bleeding. I don't know if he'll..." he trailed off, his words being carried away by the wind. "You don't know if he'll live?" Crowpaw snarled. "You don't have to lie to me. I have to know what happens to him!"

Barkface turned around and went back into his den. Wolfkit, a shy little gray tom, followed him with a mouthful of herbs.

After what seemed like moons later, Barkface returned to the rest of the Clan. They waited in a long silence. Crowpaw flicked his tail. _If he's dead..._ he thought."Eaglepaw will live," he announced. Crowpaw breathed a sigh of pure relief and joy. He raced into the Medicine den, his tail waving. When he saw his brother, he gasped a sigh of relief. Eaglepaw was looking up from his nest, blinking slowly. "Hi, Crowpaw," he murmured, his voice weak. Barkface followed him in. "He'll take a bit longer to heal." he moved his head closer to Crowpaw's and whispered, "But he can never be a warrior. His paws are damaged to much to fix."

The smoky gray apprentice looked at the medicine cat in alarm. "You mean he can't walk? He'll never be a warrior _ever?!_" he snarled. Eaglepaw looked up. "What?" he asked nervously. "Nothing," Barkface quickly replied, glancing at Crowpaw. His eyes said, _Don't tell him just yet. _He hissed, then stalked out of the den.

Ashfoot was pacing outside, her eyes flashing. When she saw her son, she raced over to him. "How is Eaglepaw?" Crowpaw stamped his paw then hissed. "His paws are damaged! He can't be a warrior!"


	8. Chapter 6

Ashfoot gasped. "Never? He'll never be a warrior?" she asked, still registering the words. Crowpaw nodded angrily. "Barkface says his paws are broken so much he'll barely be able to walk on them, much less fight and hunt!" Ashfoot's eyes flashed with despair. "Oh StarClan, why!" she murmured, grief-stricken. Crowpaw turned around, and remembered Mudpelt was dead. He had been so angry about Eaglepaw that he had forgotten about his mentor. He padded up to Tallstar. "Tallstar, who will be my mentor now?" he asked nervously. Tallstar looked down at the apprentice. "We'll have to decide that later. Now we have to sit vigil for Mudpelt." he was right. The sun was setting and the wind was dying down. Crowpaw nodded, feeling hollow. _Why couldn't I do anything to keep Mudpelt from dying, or Eaglepaw from being injured? _He yowled at himself angrily.

Mudpelt's body lay in the center of the clearing. The blood had been cleaned up, and he lay perfectly still, his blank eyes staring into the sky. Crowpaw sat down next to the body and pressed his nose into the cold pelt.

It was moonhigh when he finally got up and went to lie down under the open sky. It felt cold without his brother there, he realized unhappily. He lay down uncomfortably, turning over constantly. He couldn't fall asleep until it began to rain. It was only a slight drizzle at first, but soon it grew into a pounding rainstorm. He was to tired to move into one of the old badger sets to stay dry. He eventually fell asleep in the storm.

When he awoke he was not in the WindClan camp. He got up and looked around and found himself in a clearing full of starlight. "Where am I?" he exclaimed in awe. A wiry brown she-cat padded slowly over to him, followed by two other cats he didn't recognize. "Welcome, Crowpaw," the she-cat spoke first, her voice firm and commanding. "I am Wind. My companions are Heatherstar and Redtail."

Crowpaw gasped. "You're _Wind? _The first leader of WindClan? And Redtail, you were the ThunderClan deputy that Tigerstar murdered, weren't you?" He looked at Heatherstar. "You...you led WindClan before Tallstar, right? Why are you here?" he asked the starry warriors.

Heatherstar flicked her tail impatiently. "But we have short time, and must deliver this message." Redtail came forward. "What was great shall be broken, what was dear, forsaken." Heatherstar came next. "Four will come. One will fall." Finally, Wind stepped up to him. "And the Three will defend us all," The StarClan cats all moved back and began to fade. "Wait! What does it mean?" he called. But no one answered him.


	9. Chapter 7

Crowpaw woke up with a start. The words of the prophecy rung in his head. _What had it meant? _He wondered as he groomed himself, the left the apprentice den. As soon as he saw him, the WindClan deputy, Deadfoot came towards him. "Good thing you're up. Whitetail is leading the dawn patrol with Mudclaw and Thrushwing. You should go with them." The apprentice nodded, then joined the cats assembled at the base of the Tallrock.

Whitetail saw him first. "Oh, good! We have another cat!" Whitetail looked warmly at him. She nodded to the rest of the patrol, and they headed out of the gorse tunnel. "Where are you headed?" Mudclaw asked Whitetail. "The old badger sets. I'm hoping we can find some rabbit warrens there," the mottled brown warrior nodded. As they walked along the moor, Crowpaw thought of his dream. _What does that mean? 'What was great will be broken, what was dear forsaken?' And why was Redtail there? He's a ThunderClan cat! _"So, how is being an apprentice going?" Crowpaw looked up, startled. Thrushwing had moved in line with him. "Oh, good. The den is empty, though," he replied uncomfortably. She nodded. "Once, when my brother was sick, he moved into the medicine den for half a moon! It was uncomfortable," the warrior told him. "I still miss him. He was killed while we were sitting vigil. He never got to sleep in the warriors den," she sighed.

"We're approaching the badger sets!" Whitetail's call made the two cats look up. Mudclaw turned to them. "Come on! Before the prey gets away!" he hissed. "Alright, alright, keep your fur on," Thrushwing muttered. As the cats reached the sets, they smelled fresh rabbit scent. "More than one," Whitetail sniffed the air. She turned to Crowpaw. "Think you can find them?" she asked him. He nodded, then began searching the ground were the warren might be. He finally found the hole where the warren must begin. _Eaglepaw would have jumped right into it and started looking for the rabbits. _He padded back to the rest of the patrol. "There's a tunnel leading into the warren. Should we go in?" he asked. Mudclaw rolled his eyes. "Don't be hare-brained! We're runners, not tunnelers! We'll wait out side the hole if we can get downwind of it. When it comes out, we grab it." He nodded. Crowpaw led them to the tunnel. Whitetail flicked her tail, signaling them to lie by the hole. He nodded. Then they waited.

**Shorter chapter this time! It was late when I wrote this, and I had to get off my laptop. Also, a little fun fact:**

**At the end of this chapter, the patrol was originally going to be attacked by a badger, and Thrushwing die from her injuries. After I had finished writing and was editing, I decided, "A battle with a badger would be a bit to much heartbreak and action for Crowpaw. Let this be a peaceful chapter." The next few chapters will be up soon! Thanks to everyone who reads this and supports! And my friend (You should know who you are) who has helped me with the story! **


	10. NOTICE

**Well, Hello! I'm sorry about the LOOOOOOONG delay on Crowfeather's Choice. I've been having writers block and I had to wait to get Midnight and Moonlight from the library, so I couldn't really continue without those two books. So It'll be here soon! **

**Thanks!**

**Quillfang**


	11. Chapter 8

**Hi :D **

**I FINALLY got back to writing this story, and I'll be able to update more often now! Enjoy this chapter, and the next will be released either tomorrow or the next day! **

**If you want, you can submit cats for the story. Just put their name, description, and age in moons in the reviews, and I'll try to use them! Thanks for your patience and support, and I hope you wont be disappointed. **

**-Quilly**

* * *

Crowpaw sank into his nest, exhausted. It had been three moons since the tunnel collapse, and he had been working hard to make up for Eaglepaw's absence. Tallstar had assigned him a new mentor, Mudclaw, the new deputy, who had worked him without mercy. He rarely got any time to see his brother anymore, because of Mudclaw's strict schedule. He sighed, remembering his kind old mentor, Mudpelt. He wished the dead warrior had lived, so he could have learned from him, not Mudclaw. But he shook those thoughts away. He needed rest from his tiring day, and Mudclaw would have his tail if he was even the least bit drowsy during training. Crowpaw's eyelids fell over his eyes, and he fell asleep.

He opened his eyes to find himself in a starry moorland. Gorse bushes dotted the sandy landscape, and a brisk breeze blew through the air, ruffling his fur and sending him the delicious scents of rabbits and birds. Crowpaw raised his muzzle to sniff the air, getting ready to hunt down a hare. _There! _He saw the light brown pelt of a rabbit snuffling through the grass. His eyes gleamed as he bolted towards the prey. The rabbits ear's perked up as he heard him. It dashed away into a gorse bush. Crowpaw hissed to himself. "Stupid. How can you loose a fat rabbit like that," he muttered to himself, claws digging into the ground.

Crowpaw looked up when he heard the quiet squeal of a dying animal coming from the bush. He blinked in amazement when he saw a cat step from it, the rabbit dangling from the warriors jaws. The cat was black, with a twisted stubby paw. "Greetings, Crowpaw," he rasped. The apprentice's eyes widened. "Deadfoot?" he asked in disbelief. Deadfoot had been the previous deputy of WindClan, who had died peacefully in his sleep shortly after the battle with BloodClan.

"Yes, it is me," Deadfoort replied, setting down the rabbit. Crowpaw looked at it hungrily, wishing he could take a bite from the plump animal. His training had left him little time to eat, and just looking at it made his mouth water. Deadfoot purred. "You may take this rabbit, young one. I'm not hungry now."

"Thanks," Crowpaw replied, sitting down to eat the fresh-kill.

After he had eaten, he licked his jaws and looked up at Deadfoot. "Why am I here?" he asked, shaking his pelt. "Is this StarClan?" the warrior nodded.

"Yes, you are dreaming now. I brought you here for a reason, and not just to fill you belly. Come with me." He turned around and began to trot quickly in the direction of huge jagged rocks that stood on the horizon. "Highstones?" Crowpaw called to Deadfoot. The former deputy didn't respond, but kept going forward.

Soon, they reached the highstones. Deadfoot took him to the very top, his paws gliding over the hard stone. Crowpaw struggled to keep up with him, frowning from the effort. He heaved himself over the last stone and stood next to his guide. Deadfoot glanced at him. "Look," he flicked his tail to indicate the ground below them. When he did, he caught his breath. The sight below him was the whole forest, all the Clan territories, the twolegplace, and beyond that, far into the horizon. "I-is this how StarClan sees?" he whispered, his gaze still fixed on the magnificent view.

Deadfoot nodded. "But I came to you with a message." the starry warrior turned to face Crowpaw. "A time of trouble is coming to the forest. A new prophecy must be fulfilled if the Clans are to survive. You will meet four other cats at the new moon. Midnight will tell reveal to you what the trouble is."

"What?" Crowpaw demanded. "What cats? And how is midnight supposed to tell me or anyone anything?"

"All will be revealed," Deadfoot promised, his words seeming to fade into a whisper.

"Wait, what do you mean?" he cried, but the world swirled into nothingness.


End file.
